


the greatest films of all time were never made

by inlovewithimpossibility, Oliverslicity



Series: olicity x folklore [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Inspired by Taylor Swift, Love Confessions, Miss Swift Owns Me, Music, Musicians, Mutual Pining, Pining, Song: the 1 (Taylor Swift)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25842823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inlovewithimpossibility/pseuds/inlovewithimpossibility, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliverslicity/pseuds/Oliverslicity
Summary: Oliver and Felicity dated five years ago during their time at music school. Now both incredibly successful artists, they've both been miserable without the other. Then Oliver drops a surprise album and it's everything both of them have been dying to say.[part 1 of 17 in the 'folklore' series]
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Series: olicity x folklore [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875232
Comments: 76
Kudos: 238





	the greatest films of all time were never made

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, welcome to my 'folklore' series which is a series of AU oneshots inspired by Taylor Swift's new album bc I have zero self-restraint and far too much time on my hands it seems. 
> 
> All the thank yous to Mandy who made this fic what it is. All the lyrics you see, she wrote, she basically wrote me an Olicity album based on 13 song titles I sent her and she really made this fic come to life. I'm really excited to share this one and I really hope you enjoy! If you're so inclined, let us know if you did by leaving a kudos and/or comment, they make my day!

**__ **

* * *

**_WE FINALLY KNOW WHO OLIVER QUEEN’S MYSTERY GIRL IS_ **

Yup, you read that right, you’re going to want to sit down for this one. We’re still screaming.

Ever since Oliver Queen burst onto the music scene five years ago, there’s only been one question on everyone’s lips. Who is the mysterious blonde girl all of Queen’s stunningly composed songs seem to be about?

Fresh out of Starling Conservatoire, Queen’s past three albums have given us hints at the mystery girl’s identity. _Lamplight_ told us of her blonde hair and blue eyes, _Renegades_ praised her mind and told us that their relationship was ‘the embodiment of the city, fast-paced and crazy, taking every piece of my heart’, and _Winter_ broke all our hearts as the album that was named the saddest of the year, detailing how heartwrenching their separation was. Still, however, we had no clue who this mystery heartbreak girl was…

Until now.

Queen’s latest release was an album drop. It was barely promoted, apart from the album cover image of a rather familiar-looking guitar being posted to his social media yesterday with the caption, ‘ _tomorrow, my love can wait no longer’._ Talk about a tease!

The album, _> Universe,_ dropped at midnight last night and we’ve done nothing but listen to it on repeat since then! It’s a gorgeous piece of art and literature, with Queen’s idiosyncratic mix of beautiful piano and gut-wrenching lyrics. 13 examples of his pure talent and ability to break all our hearts with a song, the tracklist is not only stunning but an answer to that same question we’ve been asking for five years. Take a look at the first letter of each.

_Fire  
Ellipsis  
Lustrous  
Irrefutable  
Chasm  
Italy  
Threshold  
Young Fool  
Safety  
Mountain  
Open Hearts  
Always  
King and Queen _

Yes, you are reading that right. Felicity Smoak. As in _the_ Felicity Smoak, America’s sweetheart, stunning, and incredibly talented Felicity Smoak. Felicity Smoak who burst onto the music scene about the same time as Queen. We’re kicking ourselves for never having made the connection too. A little bit of digging shows Queen and Smoak graduated from Starling Conservatoire in the same year and inside sources say that the two were very close during their time there.

Dinah Drake, a member of the up and coming duo _The Canaries,_ was a year behind Queen and Smoak at the Conservatoire and cites that ‘oh, everyone knew those two were meant for each other, the way they used to run about the halls, always laughing and getting into some place they weren’t supposed to be. I don’t know what happened between them but it’s clear to anyone who knows them that all their albums have been about each other’.

We wish someone else had let _us_ in on this little secret, we’re still screaming! Check out our analysis of the album below as well as a detailed look at all of Queen and Smoak’s public sightings together in the past five years:

**_> Universe: A Song by Song Analysis of Oliver Queen’s Shocking New Album _ **

**_Star-Crossed Lovers or a Love Gone Wrong? Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak: All Their Mutual Public Sightings_ **

* * *

Felicity is fast asleep when the news drops. She spots something regarding an album drop on her Instagram feed just before she nods off but if she’s being honest, she tries to avoid news about Oliver. It’s too painful, especially this time of year.

Five years and she still doesn’t really know where they went wrong. Oliver is the one and only man she’s ever loved and that love burned brighter than anything she’s ever felt. That love has inspired four of her own albums and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t notice some very familiar references in all three of his. The two of them just seemed to break and Felicity has no idea of the specifics, not anymore. There was so much he said, she said and in the end, they called it quits, not being able to handle the stress of fighting for each other whilst they both tried to launch music careers.

Felicity can’t stop the way her heart aches for him every night though. She can’t stop the way memories flood her mind whenever she closes her eyes. She can’t stop how her heart hammers at even the mention of his name. And that’s hard considering they’re two key players in a very small town in a very small industry.

Starling City thrums with an interesting energy.

Fifty years ago, no one would have thought of music when they thought of Starling. It was a city of business and crime, where tech sharks and mob bosses alike made their marks.

Slowly and surely, however, the district between the business sector and the Glades has had a real comeuppance in terms of the music industry.

And Felicity and Oliver are two names that no one can get out of their mouths.

Fresh out of music school, they burst onto the music scene at the same time and no one made the connection between the two of them aside from the fact they both attended Starling Conservatoire. Both have almost instant success, Oliver for his smooth, piano-based tracks with lyrics that tug at the soul and a public image that is both devilishly handsome and roguishly sweet. Felicity becomes America’s sweetheart, images of her in her sweet dress holding her guitar inspire similar aesthetics in stores across the country and every radio is playing her low-fi, lyrically beautiful hits.

Despite her heartbreak and the way her entire body thrums with longing for what once was, Felicity is so incredibly proud of Oliver. So, even though she refuses to click on to the article announcing his new album just before she goes to bed, a smile spreads across her face as she remembers the boy who sat next to her on the school roof. She recalls the way his eyes lit up as he spoke about sharing his heart with the world through his piano and she’s so incredibly proud of him for getting where he wanted to be. As she closes her eyes and falls into sleep, she forces away the thoughts of the other dreams they shared with each other on that rooftop. Dreams of conquering the world together, of building a house, starting a family… dreams that seem like a childish fantasy to Felicity now.

Her phone is what wakes her up.

Groaning, she frowns as she realizes it’s not daylight outside yet. Bleary and still half asleep, she rolls over in the far-too-large-for-one-person king-sized bed and reaches for her glasses and buzzing phone.

Blinking for a moment, her eyes widen as she realizes that she is reading the screen right. She’s popular, she knows this, but her notifications usually don’t look like this unless she’s released an album which she decidedly has not. Shaking her head, she scrolls through to her settings to silence her social media apps before she realizes that the noise waking her up was one of twenty-five missed calls from Alena, her best friend, and manager.

Yawning as she sits up, she winces at the pull in her neck and swipes across the screen to call her back, her stomach dropping as she wonders what in the world could be going on.

“Oh, Felicity thank god you’re alive!” Her friend’s voice calls in obvious relief and Felicity frowns, wondering if the news is that there was some sort of disaster near her house.

“Alive? Was that in question?” Felicity questions in fear, thinking that if so she needs to call her old neighbor, Mr. Jackson, and make sure he’s okay. He lives in that big house all alone with his cat, if something’s happened…

“No, no, not literally, figuratively maybe…” Alena poses and Felicity sighs in relief, the fear rushing from her body. She’s okay and her neighbors should be too, it’s just Alena’s idiosyncratic overdramatization.

“Alena? What is going on?” Felicity questions bluntly, it far too early and her mind far too foggy to deal in metaphors and figurativeness.

“Did you see the news last night that Oliver Queen was dropping a surprise album at midnight?” Alena questions and that has Felicity frowning all over again in tandem with her heart beginning to beat with such a fervor, she’s worried it might burst out her chest.

“Yes, but I don’t see what that has to do with me…” Felicity comments, sounding not at all convincing in her attempt to be nonchalant but Alena doesn’t seem to care as she continues with all the tact of a bulldozer.

“Everything, it has everything to do with you. It’s about you, for you, it’s a confession,” Alena explains and Felicity blanches as she tries to process what she’s saying. Her sleep-clouded mind doesn’t help and the way she’s built herself up not to even _hope_ means she’s seriously struggling to comprehend what it is Alena is trying to tell her.

“I… _what?”_ She questions as she slumps back into the bed, her mind reeling with the thought that maybe, possibly, after all these years, Oliver might still feel for her the way she does for him.

“The album, it’s called Bigger than the Universe, though he’s just used the mathematic symbol instead of the words bigger than the which now that I think about it is adorably you and very cute and I… Felicity, are you okay?”

Felicity recognizes that Alena is talking but she doesn’t hear anything past the album title. She’s immediately transported back to the girl she was at nineteen, hopelessly in love, and thinking that Oliver Queen was her entire future. She’s that girl laughing when she shouldn’t be in class as Oliver makes faces at her across the room, that girl who snuck out at night to play piano with him in moonlit rooms, the two of them pressed together on a single stool, neither of them needing anything except each other and the music.

“We… we used to write that in each other’s notebooks at school,” She stumbles out, her words quiet and disbelieving, her heart thundering within her chest as she forces herself to take a deep breath. Is she dreaming? It feels like she might be. After all this time, she’s convinced herself that he doesn’t care anymore and now…

Now she doesn’t know what to think.

“Oh hon, are you alright? I know you’re still in love with him,” Alena asks her gently, her voice far sweeter than usual. It throws Felicity off for a moment, her friend’s unrelenting bluntness is one of her favorite things about her.

“I… how? I’ve never even mentioned him!” Felicity gasps, shaking her head as she sits back up in her bed, her mind reeling to try and figure out when Alena might have caught onto her love for Oliver Queen in their five-year friendship. She thought she’d been so careful, that it had been her secret this whole time.

“No, but you get this wistful look in your eye whenever anyone else does and it’s clear all your albums have been about him. I should say, it’s clear _now_ ,” Alena explains with a soft sigh and Felicity sighs too, her brain whirling with all this information.

“Oh frack,” She huffs out, truly not knowing where to go from here.

“Felicity, whatever you want to do, we’ll do,” Alena tells her reassuringly and Felicity takes a deep breath. That’s exactly the issue, she has no idea what to do, she doesn’t even really know what this means. Is this a final, ‘I loved you but now it’s time to let you go’ sort of dedication or is it… could it possibly be…?

“Alena, as a friend and not as my manager… do you think this is him asking for me?” Felicity questions, her voice shaking as she dares to speak the words. She hates being vulnerable, she’s never been good at it, and it haunts her now knowing her vulnerability with Oliver has led her to five years of heartbreak and longing.

“You know for someone so smart, you’re really dense sometimes Smoak. He’s basically making smoke signals at you… Smoak Signals? Get it? Okay, yeah, not the time for joking,” Alena huffs, and Felicity can practically see the way her friend is shaking her head amusedly, both at Felicity and her own joke. It makes her stomach twist, to think that maybe this is Oliver’s attempt at the first step towards reconciliation.

She doesn’t know why it scares her so much. Surely this is what she’s wanted all this time? The chance to say goodbye to that heartbreak and love him again, fully and openly without fear or ego getting in the way. But it does scare her… good lord, it terrifies her.

“I just… I’ve been in love with him for so long, Alena, I’ve tried _everything_ to get over him but I… I just can’t, he’s it for me,” Felicity admits, biting her lip as she speaks the words she’s known for so long aloud for the first time. She feels so pathetic but to think that Oliver might want to be her but he doesn’t feel the same way as she does, that their separation hasn’t haunted his every hour for the past five years… that’s just as heart-breaking. She can’t give her full self to someone who won’t give the same back.

“What happened between you, why did you break up?” Alena asks gently still and Felicity takes a deep breath, that question still baffling her to this day.

“There wasn’t one thing, or if it was it was so trivial that I can’t remember it anymore, but I think we just weren’t ready, you know? We were in love, I know that much, but with the pressure of both of us starting our careers and the media, we just couldn’t do it,” She explains quietly, shaking her head at how foolish they’d been, how foolish _she’d_ been. She loved Oliver with everything in her and she allowed herself to drift away from him, to allow that wedge between them to grow and consume them.

“Do you think you could now?” Alena presses and Felicity freezes, thinking for a moment as she bites her lip before she takes a deep breath and nods.

“I think I really want to try.”

“Okay, well, first things first, I think you need to listen to that album, okay? I’m going to do some digging and I’ll call you in an hour or so, see if we can’t set a plan in motion,” Alena tells her, slipping back into manager mode as the tone of her voice that Felicity is far more used to comes back and she starts directing.

“Surely this is something I need to do myself, in private?” Felicity questions, however, thinking that she’d certainly rather do it in private.

“Felicity… the man just released an album dedicated to you, the tracklist spells out your name. That’s as big of a gesture as it gets I’m afraid. You need something big to show him you recognize what he’s just put on the line for you,” Alena states simply, and Felicity gasps, not having known about the tracklist. Alena’s right, she really does need to listen to the album.

She also knows there’s some truth to what Alena is saying about the big gesture. That doesn’t mean the thought of making a big public gesture to declare just how fervently she reciprocates his love doesn’t terrify her though.

“I…”

“It’s okay, I’ll sort it. Listen to the album, okay?” Alena softens, her voice slipping back into friend territory and Felicity nods taking a deep breath, her heart glowing with affection for the woman who’s been by her side for the past five years.

“Okay. Thank you, Alena,” She tells her honestly, slumping back against the pillows as the weight of this situation begins to settle against her chest.

“You know I’ve always got you, girl,” Alena tells her sweetly before the line goes dead and Felicity falls fully back against her bed, letting out a scream.

What the frack is she going to do?

Taking a few moments to compose herself and remembering the breathing exercises her therapist told her about, she forces herself to climb out of bed, scooping her phone off the bed as she pads through to her living room.

The house on the outskirts of the city is everything she ever dreamed of as a little girl. It’s more than big enough for just her but not so big she could drown in it all alone. The décor is simple but elegant and she feels like a proper adult whenever she remembers that she did this, she bought it and furnished it and it’s hers. Turning her phone around, she winces as she realizes it’s only 3 am, the fact that there’s no light streaming through the windows suddenly making sense and she pulls the curtains in the spacious living room before she flicks the lights on, thinking about sitting on the couch before she changes her mind and pads to make coffee first. She gets the feeling she’s going to need it.

Five minutes later, she finally sinks into the couch cushions and connects her phone to the speakers she has set up. It takes her a few tries to open her music app, her fingers shaking with nerves as she finally does so. Immediately a notification pops up:

**New Music in Your Favourite Genre: Oliver Queen: _> Universe _**

Taking another deep breath, Felicity closes her eyes as she clicks on it, her stomach unsettled and her heart hammering in her chest. She knows this is a threshold, a watershed, and whilst she so badly wants to pass it, the thought of what’s on the other side is terrifying and debilitating.

Steeling herself, she opens her eyes and immediately gasps as she glances down the tracklist. Even just the names of the songs have her eyes welling up as she thinks back to their time together.

“Come on, Smoak, get it together,” She tells herself as she shakes her head and clicks on the first track, the sound of gentle piano immediately filling the room.

_“There was a fire in my soul the, minute I saw you  
And I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe you felt it too  
It was ablaze and out of control  
Tried to put it out  
Then you went and burned all my walls to the ground  
I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from the way I love you  
And the crazy thing is, that I don’t want to…” _

Felicity gasps as she sinks into the couch cushions, gripping her mug of coffee tightly. The drink is still slightly too hot and it’s burning through the ceramic to her hands but she finds she doesn’t mind all that much. It’s reminding her that this is real, that Oliver actually did this. That the sound of his voice that is dancing through her brain in the most beautiful yet confusing waltz she’s ever known is real and not just some sort of hallucination.

The track, _Fire,_ spills into the next one almost seamlessly. As _Ellipsis_ begins to play, Felicity feels the tears begin to flow down her face. The words wrap around her, consuming her as she falls back into that familiar painful hole. It’s different though, there’s something else there too, Oliver’s voice soothing all of her worst fears. There’s hope and that hope grows as she listens to his voice, allowing it to flow through her body like the most glorious drug she’s ever experienced.

_“If I had known back then that I could’ve lost you,  
I would’ve done anything to keep you with me  
And if I had known back then what I know now  
I would’ve written anything to keep you around  
Now there’s an ellipsis with no sure ending  
And I can’t write, I can’t call  
My words are at a pause  
I’m at a loss to get a love back  
That I’m not so sure is lost  
With an ellipsis and no sure ending  
I’m at a loss to get a love back  
And I’m not so sure it’s lost…”_

She listens through the songs, through Lustrous…

_“Your eyes are the bluest I’ve ever seen  
They shine so bright  
Seem to see right through me  
If I could fall in love all over  
I wouldn’t think twice  
Because I’d do it again and again  
Every time  
Just to fall in love with you  
Through those lustrous eyes…”_

Through Irrefutable…

_“There are some things in this world  
That will never change  
Through all the struggles, they’ll stay the same  
Like my love for you  
My heart, my body and soul  
Will never know another  
As long as we’re both in this world together  
My love for you is and always will be irrefutable…”_

Through Chasm…

_“I never thought there’d be a difference in our love  
But here we are I see a chasm in our hearts  
I love you endlessly but will that be enough?  
With all our hearts have seen, there’s a chasm in our love._

_And I hope that our love will be enough for you  
Because I loved you before the limelight hit  
So I’m hoping that you’ll look past  
All the mistakes I’ve made  
And give me one last chance  
To fix the love we had  
And give you all of me…”_

And each takes her back to that dizzying feeling, the one she once thought she’d live on forever, the one that makes her drunk, reminds her of years gone by when she and Oliver would spend all night talking, laughing, exploring each other, and learning to love. It makes her heart ache deeper than she’s ever experienced, that familiar longing pulling at her body with an intensity she’s never felt.

And then she reaches Italy and her mind is flooded with memories of that glorious summer. She’d never allowed Oliver to spend his extraneous amounts of money on her before, having an intense need to make her own way in the world. Their trip that summer was the one exception and Oliver went all out. As she curls onto her side and the words dance around her, filling her mind with memoirs of the burning Italian sun and the way they slid across linen sheets, danced across the beach, explored with a fervor only teenagers could. They were nineteen and helplessly in love and Felicity knows she’d do anything to feel that kind of carefree love again. From Oliver’s words, she finally has hope that maybe he feels the same.

_“Whispers of love on your skin  
Italian sun shining through your hair  
you have freckles on your nose  
When the sun kisses your skin they show_

_a smile that lights up my world  
an excitement for an adventure unknown  
you told me it was a dream to go to Italy  
my biggest dream is making you smile_

_I woke you at dawn  
I’ll never forget the frown  
How it turned to a smile  
When we touched Italian ground  
A smile so bright it rivaled the sun  
You threw your arms around me  
I knew my dream was done_

_A sunset shining through the windows  
A villa in Italy  
Your laughs in the air  
Our bodies tangled in the sheets  
It was there that I told you  
If I could give you Italy  
To make you this happy  
Make you this carefree  
I’d give it to you every day that I breathe_

_You smiled at me softly  
Ran your fingers through my hair  
Like you had a secret you wanted to share  
Ever so lightly you told me  
It was never Italy but it was always me_

_a smile that lights up my world  
an excitement for an adventure unknown  
you told me it was a dream to go to Italy  
my biggest dream is making you smile_

_I woke you at dawn  
I’ll never forget the frown  
How it turned to a smile  
When we touched Italian ground  
A smile so bright it rivaled the sun  
You threw your arms around me  
I knew my dream was done…”_

She’s sobbing by the time the lilting piano shifts into a gentler tone and the next song begins to play. As ‘Threshold’ starts to sound around her living room, Felicity sighs, no longer bothering to blink back the tears as she allows Oliver’s voice to transport her. He takes her back to school, back to the best years of her life, the ones she spent with him, and he fills her heart with a hope that maybe… just maybe, they can get that happiness back.

_“I’ve been trying to reach you  
To make peace  
But it’s hard to break the threshold  
With all the words I’ve never said  
And I know I’ve made you cry  
I know we’re not alright_

_You tell them that you’re fine  
But I see it in your eyes  
I hear it in your songs  
That a piece of you is gone  
You want to be left alone_

_But I need you to know  
I’ve been trying to reach you  
To make peace  
But it’s hard to break the threshold we’ve built with time  
With all that we never said  
Hanging over our heads _

_And I can tell you that I’m fine  
Tell you I’m alright  
But it’d just be another lie  
Added throughout time_

_I haven’t been okay  
I’ve never felt right  
Not without you by my side_

_And I want to break the threshold  
With everything I’ve never said  
Make you feel alright  
Make it all okay _

_But I need you to know  
I’ve been trying to reach you  
To make peace  
But it’s hard to break the threshold  
With all that we never said  
Hanging over our heads…”_

She continues to sob through Young Fool…

_“I remember all the times  
Where you smiled and gave me light  
I never had to lie  
You made everything feel right _

_We were young and in love  
A gift sent from above  
Never felt alone  
Always each other’s home_

_I remember all the times  
I used to call you mine_

_And I’ve tried to forget you  
But you’re my only light  
But I was a young fool and didn’t hold you tight _

_How could I have been so blind?  
Not to keep you in my life?  
Pushed you away from where I’ve been  
A young fool left in the ruins_

_And I’ve tried to forget you  
But you’re my only light  
But I was a young fool and didn’t hold you tight…”_

Through Safety…

_“You once said my arms were safety  
Wrapped up in my sheets  
With your head in my chest  
You whispered so gently  
You will always be my safety_

_But I have a secret  
One I never spoke  
I was your safety  
But you were my home_

_In my arms  
Between the sheets  
Lips kissing mine  
Laughs so melodic they’re frozen in time_

_Only our hearts know the truth  
Of the secrets we kept  
The tears we’ve wept  
And the love we hold_

_You told me I was your safety  
But I never got to tell you  
You were my home_

_Now my home is gone  
I’m unsure of where to go  
But I need you to know  
My arms are always open  
For you to safely return home…”_

Through Mountain…

_“I told you our love was at the top of a mountain  
I told you it was bigger than the universe  
At the top of the world  
It’s bigger than us  
That’s where it belongs_

_So here I am  
Climbing a mountain  
In search of our love  
Hoping it’s at the top where it belongs_

_Hoping it’s lasted a storm  
And that it still shines  
Like the blue in your eyes  
With the embodiment of our souls combined _

_I told you our love was at the top of a mountain  
I told you it was bigger than the universe  
At the top of the world  
It’s bigger than us  
That’s where it belongs…”_

And Open Hearts…

_“I opened up your heart  
In a way you never imagined  
It’s something that made my heart catch fire  
But then you opened mine  
And I was balancing on a line_

_Between fear and a love too great for a man like me  
You told me not to worry  
I was all you could want me to be  
But my mind got the best of me_

_My heart was open  
Exposed for you to see  
And you loved it for all it was  
Because yours was exposed for me _

_And I didn’t know it then  
That it was all I could ever need  
But my fears were all consuming  
And took my heart to leave  
Not knowing how it would ruin everything_

_We kept each other’s hearts  
Even throughout time  
They were always open  
But only to each other’s eyes_

_With two open hearts  
And a love so strong  
We created the greatest love story ever told  
One that’s been broken  
That I can only hope to fix…”_

And finally, she reaches the penultimate song on the album. Always’ melody is gentle and lilting, even the piano filling her with hope and a promise for a possible future. It makes her sit up, wiping the tears from her eyes as she takes a deep breath and concentrates on exactly what it is he’s saying.

_“You’re under my surface  
Love like blood running through my body  
Didn’t know it yet but you kept me running  
Wonder if I ever saw you coming_

_you are always mine  
Wonder if I’ll always feel this way forever  
Or if our storms will make us wither  
But I am always yours  
I wonder if you’ll ever know how much I love you  
Or if this is just something that we’d come too used to  
And even after every single thing we’ve been through  
One fact remains that will always ring true_

_That you, are always mine…”_

She’s crying again by the time the song comes to an end, the hope in her heart making her feel as if she might just explode. These words, how Oliver is singing, it’s as if he feels the same way as her, as if for the past five years he too has done nothing but yearn and hope and it’s almost too much for Felicity to handle but in the best way possible. It makes her heart thump and it makes her feel alive in a way she hasn’t in _years._ She settles down to listen to the last song, ‘King and Queen’, knowing that by the end of today, her life is going to look a hell of a lot different.

_“They gave me a kingdom  
But it’s no kingdom of mine  
You’re all I want now  
Where my kingdom resides_

_And I could lie to myself  
And keep saying I’m fine  
But if I’m honest I haven’t been  
Since the day I lost you  
I lost a heart that was no longer mine_

_They could call me their king  
But it would just be a lie  
Without you in my life  
I’m no king  
I’d never be  
Because what’s a king without a kingdom  
Or a queen?”_

As the album comes to an end and Felicity’s living room plunges into silence, the weight of this album begins to sink down on her shoulders. Is Alena right? Is this proof that Oliver is still in love with her, that he feels the same as her? She prays it does, how she prays it does…

With everything in her, she wants it to be so, she desperately wants to feel his arms around her once more, to feel his lips against hers, his skin sliding across her own, to feel that safety and love she’s only ever experienced in his arms. It’s all she’s craved for five years and to think that there’s a possibility that she might be able to feel that again… it’s _everything_ to her.

Just as she whistles out a long breath, her phone starts to buzz once more and Felicity frowns as she reaches for it, disconnecting from the speakers before she swipes to answer Alena.

“Felicity? You okay?” Her friend immediately asks and Felicity lets out a deep breath, trying to figure out an answer to that question. Is she okay? She’s extremely tired and her mind is a minefield right now but okay? That hope in her heart is something so much better than the pain and heartache that’s lived there for the past five years.

“Yeah, yeah, I think I’m better than I’ve been in a while,” Felicity answers softly, the words feeling more real as she speaks them.

“Yeah? Well, then I guess I have good news for you,” Alena tells her with a smile Felicity can hear through the phone and she frowns.

“You do?”

“Uh-huh. Oliver is appearing on Good Morning Starling this morning and the show has agreed to allow you to surprise him whilst he’s on the air,” Alena tells her, and Felicity’s eyes widen.

“On the air?” She squeaks out, the idea of declaring her love for him on TV completely terrifying. To put herself out like that, to be so sure in her love for him and his for her… that scares her more than she can say.

“Felicity, I know this is your heart but we _need_ to do something public, for your public image. If you address it now, it’ll make the next few months a hell of a lot easier paparazzi wise. Plus, as I said earlier, I think you owe Oliver as big of a gesture as he’s given you,” Alena explains slowly, in her usual gentle voice and Felicity bites her lip. It’s a classic Alena move, to show her things from a completely different perspective and then double down to convince her and she can’t say that it’s not working right now too.

“He always was extra as anything,” Felicity chuckles under her breath, knowing that Alena is right. She needs to do this but good lord, if it doesn’t terrify her.

“So you’re up for it?” Alena asks with excitement flooding her voice and Felicity can hear the grin as she sighs.

“I… yes. You’re right… yes,” Felicity relents, feeling that fear bubble in her stomach once more but she forces it down, knowing she needs to take this leap. Oliver’s just taken the biggest leap of faith and Alena’s right in the fact that a sacrifice like that deserves one equal in kind.

“Excellent! Alright, it’s five now, I’ll be over with the team in half an hour and we’ll get you ready to crash that appearance by seven,” Alena explains and Felicity nods, taking a deep breath.

“I… okay, okay.”

“Felicity?” Her friend questions, her voice gentler and softer as she reaches out in a friendly tone.

“Alena?”

“It’s going to be okay,” Alena reassures her and Felicity takes a deep breath, nodding her head. She needed to hear that and she’s so glad to have a friend like Alena to help her through this.

“Right, yes. I’m going to make some more coffee,” She nods, looking down at her empty cup, knowing she’s going to need more than a single cup to get her through this.

“Good idea, I’ll see you in half an hour, okay?”

“Okay,” Felicity sighs as the phone line goes dead and she relaxes back into the couch with another long exhalation.

She busies herself over the next half an hour with making three cups of coffee and loading up her dishwasher with the evidence of last night’s dinner. Everything she does reminds her of Oliver, of how he’d bring her coffee in the morning, awakening her with kisses and caffeine and chuckles. Even the dirty crockery reminds her of his cooking, of how she never expected it from a rich kid like him, but how incredible his skills in the kitchen were and how much she misses the taste of his homemade food.

Her team spins into her house with all the subtlety of a hurricane. Alena and the rest of them are such a dizzying haze that Felicity almost forgets about how terrifying the concept of declaring her love for Oliver on TV is… _almost._

An hour and a half later and Felicity has been primped and preened to perfection. Her hair has been perfectly quaffed, fashioned around her head in curls, tousled to imperfect perfection. Her makeup is beautifully done, natural but it gives her that extra burst of confidence. She knows it’s silly to be so hung up on her own appearance in all of this but she wants to look good, to feel good, and that gives her the confidence she so desperately needs right now. The dress she and the stylist pick out does just that, vibrant red in a pretty A-line cut, framing her waist and paired with gold heels and jewelry. She looks the part for sure and she’s grateful for the confidence boost it gives her to help her feel the part.

The ride over to the studio is silent as Felicity’s stomach flutters nervously as the car drives over. Alena smiles reassuringly at her, babbling away about the next week of appointments they’ve got to face and Felicity will admit that it’s a good distraction from the terror currently taking over her entire being. She’s pretty sure rigor mortis has set in by the time they arrive and it takes Alena tugging to even get her out the car. They've snuck in through a back entrance, passing many employees who gasp in excitement at the sight of her as they make their way through the backstage area. Finally, Felicity is stood behind a screen that she’s told will open when Oliver finishes performing and her arms begin to shake in fear.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. You don’t need to think for this one, just feel. Tell him what’s in your heart, he’s just done the same for you,” Alena reassures her just as the audience starts to scream in delight as Oliver is introduced and Felicity sighs, nodding her head.

He’s singing Safety and it cuts through Felicity just as it did when she first heard it sat in her living room this morning. Despite how it touches her, she’s grateful for the choice. It’s one of the songs on the album that is so certain in its expression of need for her, it’s one of the songs that made her sure that this is the right thing to do, that she’s not about to get her heart broken again. She allows it to soothe her now, that fear remaining but most of it turning to excitement, to anticipation, to _hope._

_“Now my home is gone  
I’m unsure of where to go  
But I need you to know  
My arms are always open  
For you to safely return home…”_

The song comes to an end and the audience bursts into a frenzy of applause, so loud it makes Felicity wince even through the screen.

“Wow, wow, wow, is it rude to say I think this is your best album yet?” The host comments as the clapping and screaming finally dies down and Felicity hears the click of heels as the host approaches Oliver. Felicity can see their silhouettes through the screen and her stomach flutters at the familiar shape of the man she loves. Google, he looks good, even just his outline is incredibly attractive.

“Thank you, it’s my most honest for sure,” Oliver responds and the sound of his voice so close tugs at Felicity’s heart. She’s missed him so badly, she doesn’t think she knew how much really until she let herself open up again this morning.

“Speaking of honesty, you made a pretty big statement with this album. Your version of ‘For Felicity, forever ago?’” The host comments and Felicity can hear the smirk. She can also picture the blush on Oliver’s face as his shadow retreats a little and he clears his throat.

“I did, it was time. I was sick of living my life without her… I needed to make a big statement, I can only hope she hears it,” Oliver speaks and there’s such affection in his voice, such _love,_ Felicity just wants to scream and let him know that she’s right here, that she loves him too, that both of their suffering is over. All thanks to him.

Luckily for her, the host doesn’t make her wait any longer.

“Well, she certainly did, ladies and gentlemen, Miss Felicity Smoak,” She calls out, and Felicity forces herself to take a deep breath as the crowd goes absolutely wild screaming. The screen opens to reveal her stood there and even though there’s an entire audience staring at her and screaming in excitement, Felicity only has eyes for one.

Oliver looks better than she’s ever seen him. It’s almost unfair, how devastatingly handsome he always manages to be. He’s put on more muscle, his frame almost hulking. The muscles are visible through the thin material of his denim shirt and the ones in his arms strain against the material where it’s rolled up to his elbows. She always loved how much bigger he is than her, the way it only increases that safe feeling she’s always felt around him, the one she feels sinking into her now, and Felicity wants nothing more than to feel his arms around her once more.

He’s staring at her with the most glorious of expressions, amazement, and surprise but underlaid with affection and love. It’s the way she always dreamed someone would look at her, the look she could never believe was directed at her when it was, and the look she’s so incredibly happy to see back on his face and aimed at her.

“I… I… you’re here,” Oliver stumbles out as Felicity walks the few steps until she’s standing before him.

“I’m here,” Felicity confirms with a small smile, her heart thundering as Oliver smirks. It’s that small one, the one that is barely discernible but still makes her stomach flutter like a teenager.

“Please tell me you’re not crashing my TV appearance just to tell me you’re not interested,” Oliver questions with a small, disbelieving chuckle and Felicity laughs too, her eyes shining with affection as she stares up at him.

“That would be quite something after five years, huh?” She quips for a moment before the uncertainty in Oliver’s eyes cuts through her and she knows it’s not the time for joking. “No, that’s not why I’m here,” She reassures him, smiling when Oliver’s doubt morphs into happiness and that smile turns into a teasing smirk.

“Ah, want to collaborate?” He questions with that familiar lilting tone and Felicity laughs too, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Maybe, though first how does dinner sound?” Felicity questions, swallowing thickly as she forces her nerves down and strengthens herself to be brave.

“You… you want to date me?” Oliver questions and it’s so sweet and gentle and _beautiful_ that Felicity feels her eyes begin to water with the intensity of it all.

“Date, marry, spend the rest of my life with… I’m in love with you, Queen,” She states simply and wonders why on earth she ever worried about what she was going to say. It’s so plain and simple to her now, it’s all she ever needed to say.

“Well then it’s a pretty good thing I’m in love with you too, Smoak,” Oliver replies and Felicity grins, her heart leaping in excitement.

“Good, otherwise that would’ve been incredibly embarrassing for me,” Felicity laughs and Oliver does too, both of them gasping as his arms reach out to slip around her waist and tug her close. It’s a breath between them and then they’re kissing and suddenly, those five years don’t matter. As Felicity’s lips slide against Oliver’s, the two of them finally melting into each for the first time in half a decade, Felicity knows that finally, her heart can be free. This is all she needs, right here, tangled up in Oliver’s arms, and it’s all she wants too.

“Good lord, I missed you,” Oliver whispers as they pull apart only inches to wrap each other in a tight hug. The crowd goes wild but that doesn’t matter to either of them, they can’t hear them. They’ve got each other now and maybe they haven’t done things the usual way but that doesn’t matter… all they need is each other.

And if they pretty much immediately start working on a collaborative album that’s by far the happiest thing either of them has ever write… well, their fans deserve _something_ for how wonderful they are.


End file.
